Thousands of Fathers Join Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau In Pledge to Stand Up for Daughters Around the World

Mar 6, 2017

Photo: UNDP Kenya

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of HBO’s Game of Thrones teams up with Care2 and UNDP on petition to empower women for International Women’s Day on March 8

A new Care2 petition from UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, actor on the HBO series Game of Thrones, is calling on fathers to unite and empower women and girls by promoting literacy and education around the world. More than 18,000 people have taken the pledge.

“Millions of girls and women are living in poverty right now. Half a billion women around the world can’t read, 62 million girls are denied the right to education, and 155 countries still have laws that discriminate against women. It's our collective responsibility to do what we can to help,” said Coster-Waldau.

“A key part of my mission, in collaboration with Care2 and UNDP, is to fight for gender equality and the empowerment of women. When we empower women, everyone benefits: more children go to school, incomes rise, and families are healthier and happier.”

Coster-Waldau’s Care2 petition, which coincides with International Women’s Day on March 8, calls on fathers to help end gender inequality for all women and girls by:

Reminding our daughters regularly that there is absolutely nothing they cannot achieve.

Empowering our daughters to be leaders and to give a voice to those who are less fortunate and forgotten.

Supporting policies and legislation that combat violence against women all over the world.

“My petition asks fathers around the world to dedicate themselves to empowering young women and girls by reminding their daughters that there is nothing they cannot achieve; to help ensure young women and girls have just as much opportunity as their male counterparts; to encourage young women and girls to voice their opinions loudly and often.

“I’m also asking fathers to speak out against practices like child and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, and to support policies and legislation that combats violence against women all over the world,” added Coster-Waldau.